“In the News” Cancer Information – Five Years Later

On May 4, 2013, I created a new feature on the Let Life Happen website with the addition of a category titled “In the News”. The intention was to post at least one article daily from all of the news that I was finding regarding what was occurring in the world of cancer in order to assist and support cancer patients, and even busy medical professionals, everywhere. Therefore, for the last 5 years, an article has been published each and every day but what I have learned is way beyond my wildest expectations.

Until such time that the benefits no longer outweigh the positive results of this undertaking, I will keep this feature as a part of the website that truly belongs to all of you.Barbara Jacoby

The work that is being done in research alone is phenomenal. The trials that are taking place are providing participants with hope. The seminars that are being held to educate us are unprecedented in numbers as are the events being held to support and assist cancer survivors in so many different ways. Even the legislation that affects every aspect of treatments needs to be shared and its impact needs to be known. As a result, in addition to the article featured each day, there are numerous articles and stories and updates being sent out all day, every day.

I can’t begin to tell you how much information I have learned from all of the source material that I have read in the past five years. My goal for the daily postings in this file has been to highlight the breakthroughs and research findings that are most recently being discussed in the search for cures and treatments. And while I initially started with coverage of a variety of medical conditions, I quickly had to limit my postings to those pertaining to cancer only because of the vast amount of information within this world alone.

One benefit of this feature is one that I never considered. I quickly found that there were a lot of other people out there who were very vested in the information about cancer, and particularly in breast cancer, which I was posting. But, I soon found that many of these people were not the breast cancer patients that I thought would be my largest audience because of their direct connection to the disease and a desire to know what was occurring in order to be in a better position to discuss their options for treatment with their medical professionals.

Rather, those who had associations with the cancer world in a variety of other capacities were the ones with whom I have had the greatest contact and with whom I have been having some fantastic discussions. I greatly appreciate all of the feedback that I have received from those who have found interest and value in the information that I have posted. I find it so rewarding that there are those in a variety of medical fields who realize that their work does have a great impact on the lives of so many of us who have no medical background but are willing to learn what they are doing in order to have better conversations with our doctors about possibilities for our treatments for a brighter future. And knowing that this information is helping people on a worldwide basis is absolutely awesome to me.

With this past 5 years in mind and the outcome of what has been the feedback from those with whom I have been fortunate enough to interact over that time, I have decided to continue this process. With the arrival of electronic medical records, many doctors

have less time to keep up with everything that is occurring in the world of cancer. Therefore, it has become incumbent on the patient to gather information regarding their individual cancer type and take it to their doctors for discussion about what may be the best treatment for them.

It has been a program that seems to have so many positive results that the time that it takes to keep it going is very well spent. Therefore, until such time that the benefits no longer outweigh the positive results of this undertaking, I will keep this feature as a part of the website that truly belongs to all of you.